Have Books Gone the Way of the Dinosaur?

Many believed technology would finally be the death of books, but Jerry Ellis at Houston's Brazos Bookstore insists paperbacks and leather-bound books are here to stay.

“E-book sales are now leveling out,” Ellis tells KTRH News. “They're going to absolutely be part of the market, but they are not going to replace all books.”

In fact, Ellis says flipping through actual pages helps retain information better than staring at an eReader for hours on end.

“You glance at that and you pickup information, you glean and try to move on,” he says. “When you're not reading a a screen, you've paid more close attention, those words seep in and stick in your head better.”

While the larger chains may be hurting, Ellis says smaller stores like his have become a gathering place for intellectuals.

“That is something the Internet has not been super successful in replacing,” he says. “Successful bookstores are more than just the books, they reach out, they develop programs, they have relationships with their customers beyond just having books on shelf.”